Painting on Islands

January 2008 Newsletter by Tara C. Alverson

It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to paint for the sake of helping other people. You could say it’s a unique sort of commissioned-mission you have helped me embark on, and I thank you. Without your love and support I wouldn’t have been able to get this far. I leave for Dumaguete, Negros Oriental January 28th.<br /> I want to thank everyone that helped out with raising the funds necassary to support me through this endeavor. Overall you helped raise over $6,000. This fund will assist me with travel expenses, food, painting supplies, and a trained guide who will be able to assure my safety while I travel. Whatever is not used of the funds will be donated to the ICM Outreach Programs at the end of the 9 months I am in the Philippines. While in the Philippines I will be working in direct collation with the President and Founder of International Care Ministries (ICM), Sharon Tan Pastre.<br /> I will be donating around 15 original artworks to the ICM, Hong Kong Fundraiser held in mid November<br /> of 2008. With great hope those paintings will create a large amount of money that will go to reaching<br /> the needs of the poor people in the Philipines. The paintings will be done in watercolor and acrylic paints. They will have an underlying theme of what the ICM is doing for the poor and the needy. Also I plan to capture the culture of the Filipino People and the beauty of their great country.<br /> The ICM Outreach Programs are designed to meet the needs of the people and their communities. I have been commissioned to travel and study with some of the ICM Outreach Program Field Teams; such as the Feeding and Medical Teams. The poor that the ICM targets live off less then 15 cents a day. It is a constant struggle, considering the amount of disease and ailments<br /> they have to endure, not to mention the lack of clean drinking water and fresh food.<br /> The ICM Team is focused on turing around such poverty strichen areas by instituting programs teaching communities sustainable living. There are programs that teach how to yeild a rice patty feild, other crops, pig and goat farms. Another program ICM has introduced<br /> to create available jobs for the villagers is a computer<br /> technology course. The ICM also reaches out to the women trying to flee the hardships of prositution by giving them jobs and a safe environment to live. The paintings I create will go to help funding these ICM Outreach Programs.<br /> Again your support means a lot. I will keep you updated on the progress every month until the paintings are sold at the ICM, Hong Kong Fundraiser in November.<br /> Take care,<br /> Tara C. Alverson


pagpipinta sa pulo Newsletter © 2008 Tara C. Alverson. Reprinted with permission.